History
The first defences at the mouth of the Hai River were built under the Ming dynasty against Japanese pirates, and under the Qing they grew into a group of forts guarding the sea approach to Tianjin and Beijing. In 1858, during the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French fleet captured the forts, which led to the Treaties of Tianjin. A year later the Chinese beat off another attack with heavy losses to the attackers, but in 1860 the forts fell again and the allied armies marched on Beijing. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, they were taken by the Eight-Nation Alliance. The Boxer Protocol of 1901 required China to demolish them.
What to see
Remains of the forts survive on the south bank of the estuary in Tianjin's Binhai district. Next to them a museum devoted to the defence of Dagu displays cannons, maps and models of the battles. The ramparts look out over the mouth of the Hai River and the modern port, which has completely changed the old coastline.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q548289
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